About 'The Trekking Transcendentalist'

     While most folks would rather pluck out their 'transparent eyeball' when pouring over the philosophies of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, I delight in the prospect of becoming one.  In 2007, I enrolled in an Early American Literature course--a required class for English majors--and discovered a life-guiding philosophy while immersed in the ideas behind "An American Scholar," "The Divinity School Address," Nature, "Self-Reliance," and, of course, Walden.  As a result of my obsession with these Early American men, I have written a conference paper about Emerson's ideas on scholasticism in connection to American Education and the apparent disconnect between high school- and college-level writing; I have backed my pedagogical philosophy in Emerson's ideas of scholasticism, I have become a self-proclaimed transcendentalist and have been named--by friends and students--a hippie; I have, and continue to desire to, escape to nature during backcountry, off-the-grid, explorations; I've received many transcendentalist tchotchkes--children's books about transcendentalism, cardboard cut-outs of Emerson and Thoreau, countless quotes, and textbooks about Emerson's philosophies; and, adorably, my rescued dog is Ralph Waldo Emerson's namesake. 

     Additionally, my love of transcendentalism has lead to the creation of "The Trekking Transcendentalist."  The purpose of this blog will be to serve as a public forum in which I can capture my experiences, and the experiences of others, as they trek through life as 'a transparent eyeball.'  It will contain articles about nature, travelogues about backcountry explorations; Emersonian musings on life, philosophy, and teaching; and will 'prospectively' follow two New Jerseyans' exit from the Garden State to a land teeming with wildlife, open spaces, and new lifestyles.  Get ready to consume "the tonic of wildness!" 

Happy trekking and happy reading, 

Rachel